After Nevermore
by Summer Holly
Summary: It's been fifteen years since the world ended, and Maximum Ride has been stolen. When Fang goes to investigate, he is taken as well. That leaves only their twelve year old daughter, Victory Ride, and the help of the flock to save the day.
1. Chapter 1- The Beginning of the End

Hey everyone! This is my first fan fiction story so I hope you guys like it. Also, please review. I would love to know what you think about this story, both good and bad.

Enjoy the ride,

Summer Holly

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Chapter One

The Beginning of the End

"It that her," The first scientist asks her companion, a sandy haired man with large brown eyes. He nods.

"It's been a very long time since I've seen her last." He replies in his thick Austrian accent. The first scientist nods and smiles, clapping her hands like a naive child. The sandy- haired man used all of his strength not to strangle her.

"I've always wanted to dissect one of the generation fifty fours." The first scientist replied cheerfully, "I can't wait to start." The sandy haired man rolls his eyes as her impatience. Didn't she know who she was dealing with? The most successful avian-human hybrid in the world of science was lying on the platinum table before them and she was acting like a giddy school girl. A coughing fit overtook him and he choked momentarily but quickly regained his confident stature.

"Patience Dr. Anderson. Ve vill dissect vis vun very soon." The blonde scientist said. He was nearly shaking with joy. He had her. She would not escape him this time.

"Should we alert Dr. Hans Gunderson?" Dr. Anderson asked, strapping on her plastic surgical gloves. The sandy- haired man chuckled softly.

"Vhat do you think," He said, taking a large knife out of his pocket. It was already caked in dried blood from his last dissection. The sandy haired man wiped it off; he had to give some respect to his longtime foe. He hated her with all his heart. Everything about her, her long brownish-blonde hair, fierce chocolate eyes, and highly developed sense of sarcasm made him despise her more and more. His hate was truly the one thing that made this job a pleasure.

"Shall we begin, Dr. Ter Borcht," Dr. Anderson questioned. He grinned with a maniacal happiness. This was his moment.

"Of course ve shall," Roland ter Borcht replied. He grabbed his sharp, metallic blade and began to lower it down upon the body of Maximum Ride.


	2. Chapter 2- Trouble in Paradise

Chapter One

Trouble in Paradise

There was nothing like the sweet smell of death in the morning. I was running as fast as I could through the palm trees, hearing the animals' barks in the distance, closing in on me. Where to go, where to go? I look up at the high tree tops as I run. Usually, they're a wonderful sight to me but now they appear menacing, fighting against me like everyone else in this world. The pounding of the feet on the ground becomes louder and I quicken my pace. _Faster, faster, faster,_ I urge myself; _it's the only way you will survive and escape Them. _The "Them" in is this case is the most awful scientists you can imagine. They're trying to capture me and take me to a School. I've never been to one, but from the stories my mom and dad tell, I don't plan on choosing it as my next vacation spot.

"Tori come back." My mom's steely yet familiar voice flies through air almost stopping me in my tracks. No, it's not her, it's not my mom. She wouldn't be working with Them. It's just a prototype, it's just another clone. Distracted, I slip and my instincts scream _look down_. I do. My mistake. A pit a hundred feet deep stretch below my feet and of course, since gravity has to do its magic, I'm falling. That's great. The wind blows around my hair, whacking my black braid into my cheek. The bottom is growing closer into view, thirty feet away, twenty feet away, ten feet away. I'm trying as hard as I can to make my natural instincts work and save me one more time. The jagged, ripped floor of the pit has almost swallowed me up. Come on, work already. Then, a second before I impale on the ground, the right muscles click and I unfurl my blackish purple wings and soar upward. _Ow_, I think angrily,_ note to self: no more unexpected unfurling_. The pit and the Hunters shrink away from view and all I can see is the blue sky stretching above me.

...

"Tori get up." A loud obnoxious voice finds its way into my dream and I roll over, annoyed. I open my eyes hesitantly to see the bright burning sun right outside my window and a ten-year old troublemaker on my bed.

"Shut up, Mench,"I growl, plowing my pillow into his stomach, causing him to fall off my bed and out the window. Yes, I know, it isn't nice to just push people out of windows when they annoy you. But niceness wasn't the thing that kept my mom and dad alive when they were running away from the scientists, Flyboys, and Erasers.

"Ha, ha, ha," Mench says dryly as he glides by my window, his light grey wings soaring out behind him. Yes, we have wings. For those of you who skipped the summary or just randomly started reading, let me tell you a little about myself and my bizarre family, or as we call it, our flock (we're not all related but we're close enough to feel like a family). My name is Victory Ride, but I just go by Tori. I have long black hair, chocolate brown eyes, and wings the color of a raven. You see, everyone in my flock, including Mench who is the irritating ten year old son of my uncle Iggy and my aunt Ella, has 98% human DNA and 2% Avian DNA. Like my mom always says, that 2% makes a big difference. My mom, Maximum Ride (Max as everyone calls her) and everyone else in her Flock, such as Nudge, Angel, Iggy, Gazzy/the Gasman (you can sort of guess why he named that after a little), and my dad, Fang, were results of an experiment done by the most awful group of scientists you can imagine. They managed to escape of course but those evil scientists, those creeps, followed them around the world, trying to recapture them. During their long adventures, they picked up Total, a dog with wings, and a guy named Dylan. You see, the mission of all their adventures was to save the world. Sadly, despite all their efforts, the world ended and the new era, my era, was created. My parents and the flock still lived but so many people around the world died. Now, fifteen years after the end of the world, we live in a paradise created by my grandma and an extremely rich and luckily still alive billionaire.

"You just wait until breakfast," Mench continues, interrupting my thoughts. "When your mom hears about you pushing me out a window again, oh you'll be in such big trouble."

"Not if I beat you there," I yell, unfurling my wings and jumping out the window. I soar towards the kitchen hall at over a hundred miles per hour, leaving Mench to choke unhappily on my dust.


	3. Chapter 3- In the Kitchen

Chapter Three

In the Kitchen

I knew something was wrong even before I stepped into kitchen. Usually, at this time of the morning, Aunt Nudge is blabbing on and on and on about the latest trends in fashion, Uncle Iggy and Uncle Gazzy are discussing a new sort of bomb they've created, and my mom is blaring rules at everyone through her favorite toy: her blow horn. Except today, there's not a sound to be heard. As I step inside, the lights are on, but there's nothing to be seen besides a few discarded bowls of cereal left on the table. My instincts go on auto pilot and I'm prepared for a fight. _Trust your instincts, _my mom always told me, _there'll be no time to think in a fight._

"Hello," I say cautiously, my heart beating a thousand miles an hour. "Aunt Nudge? Uncle Iggy? Aunt Angel? Uncle Gazzy? Mom? Dad?" I feel a breath on my back and I spin around to give a roundabout kick to the person behind me.

"Ow! Geez, Tori, relax! It's just me." Mench wheezes, holding the side of his stomach where I just kicked him.

"Oh thank god, it's just you!" I sigh, relieved to not face an evil scientist or, even worse, an Eraser. I've only dreamt of them so far, but I know enough about them to never want to see one in person. Ever.

"Who did you think it was?" Mench mutters, looking around the room for anyone else. When he doesn't see anyone, he looks at me and his normally pale face turns paler. "Uh, Tori? Where is everyone?"

"That's the problem." I explain, trying to keep my voice down, in case someone is here listening to our conservation. "They've just all….. Well, disappeared." _But people don't just disappear, _my mind tells me, _they get stolen_. Yep, that makes me feel a lot better.

"Where do you think they are?" Mench mumbles, looks more and more like a frightened, little kid every minute. Our eyes meet and we both know the answer, even though neither of us wants to say it aloud.

"The School," We whisper in unison, afraid to say the awful word any louder.

"You got that right," a voice says behind me, clasping a hand on my shoulder and turning me around.


	4. Chapter 4- Stolen

Hey, Summer Holly here. I hope you all are enjoying my story and I'll try to post another chapter again soon. Keep reading and please review!

- Summer Holly

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Chapter Four

Stolen

"Uncle Iggy!" I cry, sighing in relief. Oh thank god, I'm not alone on this island with just Mench. Smiling brightly, Mench nearly shrieks with joy and jumps onto his surprised father.

"Whoa, calm down Mench." Iggy replied, pushing Mench gently away. I look up into his face and notice something not's right. His unseeing eyes are almost swollen shut and a trail of blood streaks down his cheek.

"Wait a second," I say suddenly, "Where's everyone else." Uncle Iggy's normally pale face becomes even paler.

"It's a long story," He says, a bead of sweat falling down his face. "Why don't you two sit down." Mench follows his instructions and plops down in his chair but I stay standing. You never know if there'll be a fight around the corner so I might as well be up on my feet.

"Start talking," I say, failing to keep a snarl out of my voice. Uncle Iggy nods and wipes his forehead.

"Early this morning, your mother went flying, you know, her typical business. She didn't return so your dad..."

"Fang you mean," Mench chimes, and Iggy nods again.

"Yes, so Fang, Dylan, Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, and I went out searching for her. We thought that she might be mad and blowing off some steam like usual but we weren't so sure." Iggy continues. I stare blankly at him. What does he mean by "_we weren't so sure". _Is there something he isn't telling us.

"What do you mean by that?" I growl.

"Well, she left a lot earlier than normal this time, at about 2 am, and she left a lot more secretly. Quietly, as if she didn't want to be seen." Iggy says. My stomach clenches and I scowl at Iggy.

"What, are you claiming that my mom, Maximum Ride, was sneaking off and giving information to some scientists or evil being? Didn't about 99 percent of them disappear when the world ended about fifteen years ago?" I snarl, glaring at him hoping he would give me a reaction. But he was experienced with handling angry avian girls by dealing with my mom and he merely raised his hands in defense.

"It was just a suspicion." Iggy replied, "Anyways, we flew off to check on her when we were attacked."

"By who?" Mench questioned.

"Erasers, Fly boys, really all of our past enemies put together. The biggest problem was that they had someone, a very special someone." Iggy said.

"My mom, Max," I said, silently.

"Yes. We fought to get her back but the Erasers carrying her flew away while the rest attacked the underground tunnels where everyone else lives. We had no choice. Fang chased after your mom, and Nudge, Gazzy, Dylan, and Angel fly underground to save everyone else. I came here to see if you were okay." Iggy finished. Mench and I stare at him, speechless. _If only I was there_, I thought angrily, _I would've been able to save her. _

"So, what do we do?" Mench asked, nervously. Before Iggy could answer there was a banging on the door. I ran to it and opened it, hoping to see someone from my Flock.

"Don't!" yelled Iggy but it was too late. The door was open and a group of enormous Erasers stood, smirking evilly at me.

"Oh shit." I said.

"Very proper," One of the Erasers replied. Then, "Attack!"


	5. Chapter 5- Up and Away

Hey, Summer Holly here. Here's the newest chapter in the story. If you like it, review. If you hate it, review. If you frankly don't care a bit about it, still review.

- Summer Holly

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Chapter Five

Up and Away

If I had to choose my favorite thing to do in the world, it would probably be beating the living puss out of Erasers. I swung a hearty fist to my right, and felt it connect perfectly with an Eraser skull. It emitted a feeble wail before collapsing on the ground. Uncle Iggy and Mench were nowhere in sight but I had no time to worry about that now. Four Erasers were on my tail and they didn't look like they wanted a tea party.

"Victory Ride," They intoned.

"Yes?" I replied sarcastically. The largest of the Erasers roared and charged at me. Almost instinctively, I jumped and banged my hands against his ears. He promptly fell to the ground, his eardrums blown. The other three ran at me and I went on autopilot, landing kicks and punching as fast as I could. One of them grabbed my left arm and began to twist it, hard. I grit my teeth and bit down on his hand until I tasted blood. He yelped and pulled his hand away. I spun a roundabout kick on one of the others, and its ribs cracked. Eraser Number 3 however was still strong as ever and he landed a bone crunching punch to my stomach. Black dots clouded my eyes and I began to feel nauseous. _Focus, Tori, _my mind screamed,_ remember, pain is merely a message_. If only I could get in the air. Anytime I'm flying, I have the upper hand.

"Giving up?" The Eraser growled.

"What do you think," I snarled back venomously. For a split second, he loosened his grip and I took my chance. Jumping into the air, I unfurled my purplish raven wings and soared upwards, ignoring the irritating pain in my right shoulder. He roared in anger and I turned to smirk back at him when something flew into me. Oh shit, they don't have wings again do they?

"Sorry, Tori," Mench said, regaining control over his grey wings again. I looked down on the battle field and saw the number of Erasers were growing rapidly.

"Up and away, Mench," I screamed, flying upwards as fast as I could. The wind soared through my hair and it would've been great if I had not been flying away from death.

"Tori," Mench whispered.

"Yeah, Mench," I reply, looking over at him. Only now, in the air, without the Erasers chasing me can I see his fear. His left cheek has a deep cut and he'll have two black eyes in the morning but it's the frightened expression on his face that hurts me the most.

"I'm scared," He says, fidgeting as if I'll hit him.

"It'll be okay," I say, looking out over the horizon. "I promise." As we move farther and farther away, I take one more look at the battlefield and freeze. _No, this can't be happening_. Down below, tied up and being taken by Erasers is a familiar person with pitch black hair and raven wings like my own. Fang.


	6. Chapter 6-We Meet an Old Friend,Sort of

Hey, Summer Holly here. Sorry this chapter is a little late but I've been pretty busy the last few weeks. Still, I hope you enjoy this chapter and PLEASE REVIEW. I have received hardly any reviews and I want to know what you guys think about this story. So... REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW.

- Summer Holly

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Chapter Six

We Meet an Old Friend... Sort Of

The sky was pitch black by the time we landed. It pretty much matched my mood. _They_ had stolen my mom, my dad, and probably the rest of flock too. God, who else could they take from me? Mench?

"Tori, you're muttering to yourself." Mench said. I rolled my eyes and held in a scream. The next time I saw a scientist or one of those awful Erasers I was going to rip its head off. But I couldn't focus on that now; Mench needed me.

"Mench, I'm going to scout the area. If I'm not back in a thirty minutes, fly back to the red cave we passed eight miles back." I instructed.

"The one with all of the rats?" Mench asked nervously.

"That's the one. I'll see you soon." I say, stretching out my wings and running into the air. The night air is crisp and cool as I soar around our camping spot. With my hawk eye vision, I can practically see everything. Swamp? Check. Alligators? Check. Creepy old man pointing a gun at me? Check. Wait what? I look down and fifteen feet in front of me is a man, probably in his sixties or so, aiming an assault rifle at me. That's Southern hospitality for ya!

"Die!" He shrieked, shooting off his weapon like a crazy man. Being the smart bird kid I am, I swerved out of the way of the bullets and zoomed upwards.

"Nah, I don't really feel like it today." I reply, loud enough for the man to hear. "How's next Thursday for you?"He roared, probably infuriated at my sarcasm. What can I say; it's a gift really.

"Step away from the rifle," Another man's voice echos.

"I'm not going anywhere until this freak of nature is dead on the ground." Crazy Guy Number One shrieks.

"Hmm, I prefer the term 'Avian American' but 'Freak of Nature' will work. It has a nice ring to it don't ya think?" I reply, testing out my new name. I guess I mustn't hit a nerve because Dr. Crazy (ooh, I like that one)screams out once again.

"Sir, I would recommend you put down the gun." The other voice replies.

"Why the hell should I?" DC responds, turning the rifle away from me.

"This is why," Person Number Two says, letting loose a string of bullets and turning DC into Swiss cheese. I start to fly away because I'm just funny like that, but Person's Number Two's voice stops me in my tracks.

"Victory Ride, what a pleasure to meet you!" Person Number Two says, dropping his gun and stepping out into the clearing. His hair is grayish- white and grimy, but his blue eyes shine like we just shared a inside joke. I hesitate to fly away; angry people I can deal with, crazy people are another story.

"Do I know you?" I snarl, allowing myself to go into hostile mode. He laughs again, and flying away really seems like a good idea now. There's something about this guy that I just don't trust.

"You sound just like your mother!" He says, and my blood turns into ice water. Wait, what? How does he know my mom? I fly to the ground in a instance and pull him up in the air with one hand.

"What. Do. You. Mean?" I growl, spitting out each word separately. Instead of cowering like I'd expect him to, he smiles even wider and chuckles again. Okay, now he's really on my nerves.

"Oh, Tori, you've turned out just liked I've expected you to! It's too bad we couldn't meet until now." He says. I drop him to the ground and press my arm against his neck. Hard.

"You've got ten seconds to tell me what the hell you're talking about," I hiss, narrowing my eyes at him.

"I'm Jeb Batchelder, a... friend of your mom's, Maximum Ride. If you'd let go of me, I could help you find her." Jeb chokes out, his face turning an unnatural shade of blue. I let go and he gasps, taking in a few gulps of air. I'm tempted to put my arm back there but I contain myself. He might have information on my mom and that's just what I need right now.

"Start talking." I say, glaring daggers at him. He stands up and wipes his hands on his pants.

"We'll talk soon enough, Victory. But we have to check on Mench now, don't we?" He says matter-of-factly. How does he know about Mench? How does he know about me? Most importantly, who the hell is_ he_?

"Fine. But get moving or else I will break your neck before you can cry out." I snarl, keeping up my angry demeanor. Luckily, hostility comes naturally to me.

"Alright, Victory. But we have a lot to talk about." Jeb says, walking forwards into the darkness.


	7. Chapter 7- I Dine with Danger

Hey, everyone. Here's the new chapter, up a little early if I may say. I'll make a deal with you guys; if I get 3 reviews by tomorrow, I'll post the next chapter up tomorrow night.

Keep reading,

Summer Holly

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Chapter Seven

I Dine with Danger

"So, Jeb, what are you doing here?" I say, keeping my eyes straight on him in case he might try to get away. "Do you come here often? How's the food?" He chuckles once again and I use all of my willpower not to smack him in the head.

"Oh, following you of course." He says as if it was obvious. Yeah, now I'm definitely thinking he's a nutcase. First, he's strolling around in the middle of god-knows-where and now he's stalking me. Knocking him out now seems like a much better idea.

"How do you know my mom?" I say, trying to change the subject.

"I helped the Flock escape from the School then I spent the next few years trying to recapture them. Also, I'm Maximum's father." He replies causally. Like my mom, very little surprises me but this was a bit shocking. I stopped walking and stared at him doubtfully. This man wasn't really my grandfather, was he?

"You're not my grandfather." I hiss, letting myself go on hostile autopilot.

"Oh, Victory,"He says, smiling sadly at me like I'm a little puppy who he has to send to the pound. That does it. I'm about to push him into a tree when I see Mench running towards me. His left arm is now bruised all over and his forehead's bleeding. Jeb will have to wait.

"Tori," Mench breathes, looking exhausted. He collapses into a pile at my feet and I kneel down to get a better look at him. I shoot Jeb a look that screams _If you move, I will kill you with my own bare hands_.

"Mench, what happened," I ask, turning my mother bear instinct on. His wings look fine and his bruises are only minor. The biggest problem is his forehead cut; it's pretty deep and it won't stop bleeding.

"Erasers... they came and attacked me." Mench says, pulling himself into an upright position. "They said they had their leader somewhere near here, watching over you." Anger surges through me, and I turn to glare at Jeb.

"You little, son of a..."

"Now, now, sweetheart. This isn't the time for name- calling or rage. Why don't we fix Mench up and have some dinner. You must be famished from that long flight." Jeb says, pulling a picnic basket out from nowhere. My blood boils. _Sweetheart?_ I stand and grab Jeb's collar, yanking him up in the air.

"No one calls me sweetheart." I growl, tightening my grip on his collar. "And if you think we'll eat a crumb of your pathetic food with _you_ of all people, you're even more of an idiot than I thought you were." Jeb looks surprised but his expression turns to anger.

"Look, Victory." He says, spitting out each word separately. "If you think that you can survive, if you think Mench can survive without my help you're wrong." I'm about to spit out another clever retort but then my eyes fall on Mench. He has turned an unnatural shade of white and the bleeding is getting faster.

"Fine. But you better make it fast." I say, already regretting this choice.

* * *

Jeb wraps Mench's head with a bandage, while I examine Jeb's picnic basket of fun. There's a few poisonous darts (which I stash away for later), a lighter, a gun loaded with bullets (I throw that one away), six ham sandwiches, and a thermos filled with what looks like lemonade. Just a typical dinner for a insane sociopath.

"All right, that should do it." Jeb says, finishing up the bandage for Mench's head. The wound has finally stopped bleeding and color is starting to return to Mench's face.

"Any reason why you had a bazooka in your picnic basket?" I ask. Jeb shrugs and grabs back the basket.

"Personal reasons." He says, pulling out the lemonade and ham sandwiches. "Please, go ahead and start eating." Mench reaches for a sandwich but I slap back his hand. We don't know what Jeb put in them and I'm not taking any chances.

"Eat one first, Jeb." I snarl. Jeb nods and takes a bite out of each of the sandwiches.

"See, not poisoned." Jeb says causally. Mench grabs three of them and starts chowing down but I don't touch anything.

"Why haven't I met you before, Jeb? If you were so close with my mother, wouldn't she have wanted me to meet you?" I ask. Jeb turns his face away and I see an expression I didn't expect; guilt.

"Your mother did bring me to live with you on the island. She saved my life and brought me there despite the fact that I tried to kill your father, Fang." Jeb says. What? I'm glad I wasn't eating a sandwich or else I would've choked. Jeb tried to kill my dad? When did this happen? No matter what the answer was, my hatred for him just rose up another degree.

"Continue." I say, narrowing my eyes at him.

"It all happened before you were born, before the end of the old world. But... I couldn't stand the guilt of living with the Flock, not after I betrayed them so much. I left the island and never saw your mother or the Flock again." Jeb finished. I stare at him, trying to decide whether he was lying or telling the truth. Probably a bit of both.

"So, why are you telling us this?" I say, crossing my arms and standing up. Mench follows suit.

"I don't know. Probably to help my conscious, probably to get my guilt out, probably so you won't hate me as much when you figure out what I have to do to you." Jeb replies. Oh no. I stare at Mench and we both think the same thing: trap.

"Go, Mench!" I shriek and we fly upwards, only to have cages fall on top of us. I struggle against the bars but they won't move an inch. Dammit!

"I'm sorry, Victory. It's for your own good." Jeb says and the world goes black.


End file.
